The National Democratic Foundation (NDF) has demanded that the government approve the necessary constitutional amendments and declare the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to be the 5th province of the country, fulfilling the promise made by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The technical experts of the NDF put forth the demand during a unanimous decision made during a consultation meeting held at their Secretariat under the chair of its vice chairman, Sohail Kisat.
Earlier, in the light of the FATA Declaration by the FATA Grand Assembly, stakeholders approached the NDF, and a broader consultation was conducted among alliance members of the Pakistan Social Services Partnership (PSSP). Based on this consultation, NDF experts decided to support the establishment of a separate province status for FATA.
The NDF Chairman Kanwar Dilshad has already sent a recommendation letter to the Senate Chairman, the President, and Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Mr Sartaj Aziz (Chairman FATA Reforms Committee), demanding FATA to be made the 5th Constitutional Province.
NDF Advisory Council Technical Member Mr Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal advised the NDF to initialize a national stakeholders’ consultation. NDF Advocacy Coordinator Mr Safeer Hussain Shah suggested using print and electronic media to achieve a consensus over the proposed matter.
In the end, it was unanimously decided to organise a national stakeholders’ conference and also advocate the matter at the national level to eventually achieve an Act of Parliament of Pakistan.